What is metal but the definition of our separation from society’s status quo?

What is metal?

It’s hard to define that which drives my soul to appreciate the unity I feel while jumping around in the pit, raising my horns in the air, or screaming the lyrics of a song back at a band you respect.

One could think it’s the crowd dynamic, feeding the ego words of encouragement that say you can do anything you want and so why not go crazy? For me that would be wrong, as this situation, surrounded by people punching, kicking and screaming along with me is about as personal a view as anyone could ever see into my soul.

Few moments in life make you feel invincible from death, and for me, one of those moments is in the pit.

So what is metal? What does it mean to me? Metal is a part of who I am and a major part of the legacy I will leave behind. It is one of the few raw truths left in this world. Perhaps not in the songwriting… perhaps not in the production… but in the venue, from the pit, there is quite possibly nothing more real than this.

This feeling stays with me through everyday life. The bruises, aches & pains may fade, but the invigorating feeling remains. A constant reminder of the truly important things in life. Money? Power? Faith? These are distractions from the ultimate truths. They distract from the reality we all exist within. You can paint the house to look like anything you want but the fact remains that it is indeed a house.

What is metal? It’s different for every metalhead. For me, metal is emotional truth learned only by experiencing metal the way it is truly intended. Call the experience enlightenment. Call the experience a ritualistic coming of age. Call the experience whatever you want. It’s metal, and I don’t expect many people to understand nor find this explanation satisfactory. It is the barbaric, carnal reminder of the primitive society we live in, and something in my soul gets satisfied with every show.

Broken and bruised is the status of society today. Some worse than others, but no one in innocent. We are a product of our own environment. I am not mad at the people who are ignorant today as a result of yesterday’s mistakes. I am mad today at the ignorance of individuals who, even after being shown truth, throw it back in the face of those who have proven it. Time and time again we as human beings show how ridiculously primitive we are. And it will only be thousands of years from now, if we don’t blow ourselves up first, that we may realize a feeling of a truly advanced culture. For now, I will travel back to my cave, club in hand, and every once in a while experience that which reveals the emotional truth I see in mankind; metal.